Welcome to LEGO Robotics Tutoring!

All skill levels are welcome! My aim is to help your student become inspired and self-sufficient as a young engineer/inventor. There's a steep learning curve with LEGO Mindstorms, and oftentimes students will become frustrated once they start trying to invent contraptions of their own. I enjoy helping students to develop their mechanical/analytical skills so that they can set the instruction manuals aside and trust their instincts.

I now conduct all tutoring via FaceTime or Skype, even for local students. Tablets and smartphones allow students to flip between the front and back cameras and move around to show me their designs.

I'm happy to meet with teams or with individuals. Ideally, an adult will be present to help hold the camera and/or take notes.

I've been offering these private sessions since 2009! Individualized tutoring is fun for me because I get to learn about students' specific interests and issues and help them to move forward.

General format of tutoring sessions: I'll ask you questions until I have a good idea of where you are in your understanding of robotics. Next, I'll answer any questions you may have prepared (not required) and I'll do my best to challenge you with new ideas and concepts. If you're in the FIRST Lego League, I'm careful not to give you specific solutions for missions or to "tell you what to do". However, I will certainly help you to look at the missions differently and I'll make sure you're using FLL "best practices" effectively.

Cancellations 24hrs in advance are fine.

I'm looking forward to working with you/your student!

-Michael Vawter (a.k.a. The Robot Guy)